Do We Take Minerals for Granted? - Mineral Resources Program ...

Do We Take Minerals for Granted?
Did you know that the average automobile contains more than a ton of iron
and steel, 240 lbs of aluminum, 50 lbs of carbon, 42 lbs of copper, 41 lbs
of silicon, 22 lbs of zinc, and more than thirty other mineral commodities,
including titanium, platinum, and gold? Do you know the cost of a pound
of copper or an ounce of platinum? Though you are constantly reminded of
the importance of gasoline, and its cost, to keep the car running, do you ever
think about the importance and cost of the mineral materials that make up
the car? Do we take minerals for granted?
When the power goes out, few of us give a second thought about the copper
and aluminum needed to carry electricity from the power plant to our homes
or offices. When the battery dies, you do not automatically think about the
lead, nickel, cadmium, or lithium used to make the batteries that store power
for our cell phones, MP3 players, or hybrid cars, because you do not buy
minerals, you buy products that have been manufactured using mineral materials.
But without these nonfuel mineral commodities, many things that we
take for granted would not work.
Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral materials are all around us and we use
and encounter them every day. They impact our way of life and the health of all that lives. Minerals are critical
to the Nation’s economy and knowing where future mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining
the Nation’s economy and national security.
The USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) supports science used to understand:
• How and where nonfuel mineral resources form and are concentrated
in the Earth’s crust,
• Where mineral resources might be found in the future,
• How mineral materials interact with the environment to affect
human and ecosystem health, and
• The usage and production of about 100 different mineral commodities
in the U.S. and nearly 180 countries throughout the
world.
Why is it important to understand the science of mineral resources
and materials? Because we are increasingly dependent on mineral
materials to create products that support our way of life, our health,
and the global economy.
1

Minerals Everywhere and Everyday
Our homes and office buildings contain many mineral materials:
• Drywall is made from gypsum,
• Concrete in the foundation is made with limestone and aggregate reinforced with steel rebar,
• Bricks are made from clay,
• Titanium oxide is used to make paint,
• Silica is used to make windows,
• Electrical wiring is made from copper,
• Iron and copper are used to make pipes for plumbing, and
• Faucets contain various combinations of iron, chromium, nickel, and molybdenum combined to make
stainless steel.
Some things we use for our favorite hobbies and recreation also rely on mineral materials
to make them stronger, lighter, and more flexible. Advances in materials science
have allowed bicycles, once largely made of steel, to incorporate parts made of aluminum,
carbon fiber, magnesium, and titanium that make them lighter and more durable.
Aluminum, fiberglass, graphite, titanium, zirconium, beryllium, copper, tungsten,
and steel have replaced wood in baseball bats, tennis racquets, and golf clubs to make
them lighter and stronger. Race tracks, as well as playing surfaces for baseball and
tennis, are a prescribed mixture of clay, sand, and silt. Calcined clay (a clay that has
been heated) readily absorbs water to dry wet spots on fields and it is used to reduce
soil compaction. It is also used on infield areas of baseball diamonds and on fields and
tracks because it does not stick to cleats or hooves.
The USGS MRP studies these and many more commodities to provide the critical
mineral resource information required by policy makers, industry and the public to
make informed decisions regarding minerals issues important to the Nation. The range
of MRP research is described in USGS Circular 1289. The MRP also compiles information
on known mineral resources and makes these data and information available to
2

the public. To find out where various mineral materials occur in the U.S. and around the world, visit the MRP
Spatial Data site.
We use minerals every day to grow, prepare, and eat our food. Much of our food is grown using fertilizers made
from phosphate and potash. Meat and poultry come from animals that eat fodder grown with mineral-based
fertilizers that may be supplemented with selenium, phosphorus, or zinc. Modern tools for safe food storage and
preparation (such as, refrigerators and stoves) are made from many mineral commodities and rely on copper
wires for electric power or copper pipe for natural gas. At the table, salt is used for seasoning, cutlery is made
from stainless steel or may be silver plated, plates are made from clays, and glassware is made from silica (or
perhaps on special occasions it is lead crystal).
Minerals and the Environment
Many of the minerals that our bodies require for good health, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and
zinc, we get from food. And while we need an adequate supply of many different minerals, there are negative
health consequences resulting from exposure to some mineral materials or elevated levels of otherwise good
minerals. Some of these minerals come from our everyday contact with the air, water, and ground in our surroundings.
Some of them we are exposed to by man-made disturbances to the natural environment or as a result
of a wide range of natural disasters.
Whether it is research on
• Asbestos in California soils,
• Dust from black shale landscapes in Colorado and Utah,
• Mercury from abandoned mines in Big Bend National Park, Texas,
• Mud deposited during flooding in New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita,
• Dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York, or
• Effects of recent wild fires on soils and runoff waters in southern California.
3

MRP science helps local, State, and Federal agencies develop land management plans to minimize effects of
mineral-borne contaminants on human and ecosystem health.
The MRP supports research to better understand the environmental impact of abandoned mines, which reduces
the cost of cleanup. For example, studies of old mining areas in the Animas River watershed in southwestern
Colorado helped other agencies plan and carry out effective reclamation activities. The USGS MRP is a leader
in the investigation and analysis of:
• Natural background levels of minerals in the environment,
• Mechanisms of mineral breakdown, and
• Transport of mineral components that may be sources of contaminants.
Future Mineral Supplies
As standards of living rise around the world, there is greater demand for durable goods and products manufactured
from mineral materials. As large emerging economies, such as China and India, increase their participation
in the global economy, demand for critical mineral resources is increasing at a rapid rate. That means that
we are depleting our known mineral deposits at an increasing rate, requiring that new deposits be found and put
into production.
Every year, each person in the U.S requires more than 25,000 pounds of new nonfuel minerals
to make the items we use every day. Where are the world’s future supplies of important
mineral resources located? The USGS MRP assessment of Global Mineral Resources and
a new assessment of U.S. mineral resources will help answer this question. Recently MRP
completed an assessment of copper resources in the Andes of South America. The study
found that there likely is more copper (approx. 690 million tons) remaining in undiscovered
deposits than has been produced and currently exists in known deposits in the Andes (590
million tons).
4

Every American born in 2008 is estimated to use the following amounts of nonfuel mineral commodities in
their lifetime for their necessities, lifestyles, and health.
Mineral commodity Amount required over a lifetime
Aluminum (bauxite) 5,677 pounds
Cement 65,480 pounds
Clays 19,245 pounds
Copper 1,309 pounds
Gold 1,576 ounces
Iron ore 29,608 pounds
Lead 928 pounds
Phosphate rock 19,815 pounds
Stone, sand, and gravel 1.61 million pounds
Zinc 671 pounds
Data from U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Energy Information Administration; statistical analysis by National
Mining Association. Source of information: http://www.mii.org/pdfs/CalculationofmiiBaby.pdf.
MRP is currently preparing for a new national assessment of mineral resources of the United States. Assessments
of undiscovered resources require state-of-the-art methodologies and up-to-date background information.
In preparation for the new assessment MRP is currently:
• Identifying mineral materials that will be important for emerging technologies and the future U.S. and
global economy,
• Refine techniques to decrease uncertainty of new estimates of the location, quantity, and quality of undiscovered
mineral resources,
• Refine ways to identify resources not directly exposed at the Earth’s surface, and
• Enhancing our ability to identify potential environmental consequences of developing mineral resources.
MRP expertise in mineral resource
and mineral environmental assessments
is recognized by the international
community and by U.S.
governmental agencies that provide
assistance to developing countries.
Mineral resource assessments of
Afghanistan and Madagascar are
examples of USGS mineral resource
science aiding economic development
of countries around the world.
The MRP has also provided expertise
to assist with the identification
of possible mine-related environmental
issues in the Philippines.
5

Minerals and the Economy
A recent study by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies highlights the importance
of minerals to the U.S. economy and provides a means to characterize how critical a mineral commodity might
be by asking:
• How important is a particular commodity to our economy?
• What is the risk that the supply of an important commodity might be interrupted?
Commodities identified as being among the most critical included platinum-group metals and rare-earths. Platinum-group
metals are essential components of pollution control systems (catalytic converters) in both gasoline-
and diesel-powered vehicles, where they facilitate reduction in carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen
oxide emissions. Rare-earths are used in the manufacture of high-strength magnets, lasers, high-temperature
metal alloys, and refractory ceramics which are strategic to the defense industry. The USGS MRP conducts
research on these commodities to better understand how they occur and to decrease uncertainty in estimates of
future resources both in the U.S. and around the globe.
As with petroleum resources, the U.S. increasingly relies on foreign sources for many mineral commodities that
are important to the economy. The NRC report concludes that “decision makers in both the public and private
sectors need continuous, unbiased, and thorough mineral information provided through a federally funded
system of information collection and dissemination” and recommends that “Federal agencies, …including the
USGS…should develop and fund activities, including basic science,… to encourage U.S innovation in the areas
of critical minerals and materials and to enhance understanding of global mineral availability.”
The Mineral Commodity Summaries report, published annually, is the earliest
Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry
data.
6

The USGS MRP is the sole Federal provider of objective mineral resource science
and information. The MRP’s unbiased research on mineral resource potential and
mineral environmental issues and the collection, analysis, and dissemination of
domestic and international mineral commodity information on production and consumption
represent one-stop access for public and private users of mineral resource
science and information.
As the global economy grows and evolves in the 21st century, emerging technologies
will require mineral commodities on a greater scale and in a larger number of
applications than ever before. Advances in alternative energy technologies, nanotechnology,
telecommunications, and in the aerospace and defense industries have
all been made possible by incorporating new applications of mineral materials.
Some mineral commodities used in emerging technologies are rare and their known
resources limited. The USGS MRP is conducting research to better understand the
character of known resources for these rare and scarce commodities and is developing criteria to assess the possibility
of undiscovered resources required to sustain emerging technology industries.
Minerals—Want to Learn More?
The next time you pick up that stainless steel fork, use your cell phone, replace the batteries in your
remote control, or use your keys to start the car or open a locked door, take a moment to think about
how important minerals are to your way of life. Then visit the USGS MRP Web site to learn more
about what our Federal government is doing to ensure we have the mineral resources we need. The
USGS Mineral Resources Program provides objective science and unbiased information at local to
global scales so that the general public, government agencies, and industry can make informed decisions
on minerals issues in land-use planning, national security, and economic policy, because mineral
resources are vital to our nation.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/granted.html
7